A Boy Named Timmy

I have so got to get better about this thing...

Anyone out there excited by Tim Thomas? OK, he's an instant upgrade, at least offensively, to those players masquerading as legitimate bench help. But, he's not exactly a stellar performer, is he?

He was good for about 6 months in Milwaukee, right up to contract time, where he was rewarded with ridiculous numbers, then when right back to being mediocre. Traded here, there and everywhere, he's nowhere man.

But the Nets could still use him.

Guess it's a moot point - all the signs are pointing to the fact that the Bulls won't let him go to an Eastern Conference team, so the Nets are going to have to think of something else.

Or, more likely, make due with what they have.

Without much depth, the Nets are headed for a flameout in the playoffs, just like last year, with the minutes that Kidd, Carter and Jefferson are forced to play. And with a 39 year old as the best player off your bench, well, that's just downright scary, no matter how good that 39 year old is.

Anyone want to start laying odds on which if any bench players will remain after June of '06?

East Meets West

Nice, workmanlike win against the Bucks to close out a five game homestand at 4 - 1.

This also means the Nets are 19 - 10 against the Eastern Conference. Doing the math, then, shows the Nets at 8 - 12 against the Western Conference.

OK, included in those totals are two long road trips in which the Nets managed to go 2 - 7. If you include the three game swing through the Southwest (which was San Antonio, Dallas and Memphis, in case you forgot), that would make them 2 - 10 in those games.

Yes, I know there were extenuating circumstances - Carter getting hurt out West, RJ missing the SW swing - but that goes a long way toward the Nets overall record of 27 - 22. If they could have gone 6 - 6 in those games, the Nets would be more like 31 - 18 right now. Which is more like what we thought they would be this season.

Oh, the Nets have plenty of dumb losses against lesser teams this year - we won't get into them now - but if the Nets can't do well against the Western Conference, or on the road, it's likely to be another early exit year for NJ.

What would it take to do battle better with the West? Well, the lack of a strong big man can't be helping, even as Shareef, Stromile and Donyell all contribute something to their teams.

Post-All Star break, the Nets get the chance to play at home and play mostly Eastern Conference foes. So, they can strengthen their position by continuing to play well against the East.

But that performance against the West will nag them for the rest of the season.

Height Wanted

OK, those of you who had Steven Hunter in the trade pool have been eliminated. Yes he was traded, but to New Orleans, or OK City, or wherever, and not to the Nets.

Not that the Nets wanted him, apparently.

Things are so bad today's reports have the Nets taking a look at Robert "Tractor" Traylor, as he recovers from heart surgery.

Insert your own snide comment here.

No one seems to want what the Nets have in their quest to get taller, or more athletic, or both.

Two first round picks? One's the Clippers, and they're doing ok.
One is their own, which will probably be middle of the pack. Not so much help in what is expected to be a weaker-than-average draft.

Want Jeff McInnis? Well, you could probably have him, but he won't be playing for another 4 - 6 weeks, I'd guess.

Marc Jackson? Make an offer.

Zoran, Scott, Lamond or anyone else not in the top 7 on the roster? Make an offer.

Who knows if the Nets will bring anyone in. But can it be worse than bringing in Elden Campbell, who didn't want to be here, or Kaniel Dickens?

KMart's contract is too rich, by the way. Don't go there.

Without that additional height, the Nets are probably doomed to an early exit regardless of how well the Big Three play. On any given night, in a seven game series, the Nets will get battered around and worn down.

And they'll have a 39 year old medical miracle playing 20plus minutes a game.

The hunt continues. The clock is ticking.